Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

Canadian Television Show Wants Your Genealogy Stories

History Television in Canada is looking for your family's genealogy stories. The show is looking for "astonishing stories with a Canadian connection."

Aquila Chase Tablet Returns to Newburyport

Thanks to the generosity of George F. Sanborn Jr., a descendant of both Aquila and Thomas Chase, the Aquila Chase Tablet is now on display at the Newburyport Public Library. Carved from Caen stone, a cream-colored limestone, and highlighted with gold paint, the tablet commemorates Aquila Chase's settling in Hampton, N.H., in 1640 and Newbury in 1646. This is the first time the tablet has been on display to the public for more than 40 years.

Update: Culture Clash as American School Bans Kilt

Nathan Warmack and date

On December 7, I posted an article in the "Other News" section of this newsletter's web site about 18-year-old Nathan Warmack. He is proud of his Scottish heritage so he wore a kilt to his high school's dance. He probably looked rather masculine. After all, he is 6 feet four inches and is a star defensive lineman on his school's football team. Nonetheless, the school principal told him to go home and change into a pair of trousers. The principal proclaimed, "Well, this is my dance, and I'm not going to have students coming into it looking like clowns."

That command has now sparked a debate about freedom, symbols and cultural dress in the United States. Lots of people of Scottish ancestry are protesting.

New Genealogy Magazine Announced

Jim Beidler writes an excellent weekly genealogy column in the Lebanon (Pennsylvania) Daily News that is also syndicated to other newspapers. This week's column contains the announcement of a new genealogy magazine. Jim writes:

The Ultimate (?) Christmas Lights

Ultimate Christmas lights

It seems that every town has one resident who goes overboard in lighting their homes. You know the people I am writing about: the ones who attract thousands of automobiles driving slowly through the neighborhood to see all the lights. Now Carson Williams, an electrical engineer in Mason, Ohio, may have "raised the bar" a bit.

Mr. Williams has placed 25,000 Christmas lights on and around his home, which is north of Cincinnati. 25,000 lights probably is not a world record. What makes his lights different is that they are all choreographed to music - in this case, to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra's "Wizard in Winter" (from The Lost Christmas Eve album).

Read this Newsletter in Google's Gmail

Anyone with a free e-mail account on Google's Gmail service can now read this newsletter's articles as regular e-mail messages. Each article will appear in your Gmail in-box shortly after it is published on the eogn.com web site; there is no need to wait for a once-a-week e-mail message.

My Grandfather's House

The Jewish Genealogical Society in New York City presents the first screening of the documentary, which follows filmmaker Eileen Douglas's determined search to find the home her grandfather lived in, in Kovno, Lithuania, before fleeing to America in 1911 to escape the Tsar's Army. Both Eileen Douglas and director, co-producer Ron Steinman will be present for Q & A following the screening.

America in Color 1939-1943

A cross roads store, bar, "juke joint," and gas station in the cotton plantation area, Melrose, La.

Bound for Glory: America in Color is the first major exhibition of the little known color images taken by photographers of the U.S. Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information. These vivid scenes and portraits capture the effects of the Depression on America's rural and small town populations, the nation's subsequent economic recovery and industrial growth, and the country's great mobilization for World War II. The exhibition is available online, offering a glimpse of American rural life in the waning years of the Great Depression and into World War II.

National Archives now easier to search online

Photos of natural and manmade disasters. Lists of combat air missions flown during the Vietnam War. Rolls of those who fled Irish famine for the United States in the 1800s. And much more, all newly accessible.

The National Archives and Records Administration has made it easier to search online through tens of millions of the electronic records it holds.

Announcing HEREDIS MAC X.2

The following is an announcement from BSD Concept:

BSD Concept, the popular French Genealogy software editor, will launch a new English version for Mac.

Heredis Mac X.2 includes all the Mac OS X technologies and allows the genealogist to make interactivity between its Heredis and its Mac with now iApps® integration.

National Genealogical Society Names Two to Board of Directors

Arlington, Va. - At its most recent board meeting, the National Genealogical Society approved the addition of two members to its Board of Directors.

The Genealogist Wrist Watch

I recently saw an ad for something called The Genealogist Watch. What could that be? Does it contain a database of your ancestors? Is it a reference tool that you carry with you? Does it have a broadband connection to allow you to surf the various genealogy sites on the web?

Actually, it is none of the above.

A Warning to Heirs: Identity Thieves Target the Deceased

The following is an announcement from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC):

Criminals scour obituaries and other sources for personal information that can be used to commit fraud

Identity thieves will stop at nothing – not even the death of the intended victim – when it comes to stealing someone's personal information to commit fraud.

Crafty criminals look for personal details about the deceased in obituaries (in the newspaper or online), genealogy Web sites, death certificates and other sources. Armed with personal information – such as a full name, address and date of birth – an ID thief may be able to obtain a new Social Security card, a driver's license, or loans and credit cards, even though the victim is no longer alive.

Ages from Court Records - 1636 to 1700

This week I had a chance to read a book by Melinde Lutz Sanborn that has a very long title: Ages from Court Records, 1636-1700; Essex, Middlesex, and Suffolk Counties, Massachusetts. As you might guess from the book's title, Melinde Sanborn has extracted the names of all deponents and witnesses whose ages are given in the court records of Essex, Middlesex, and Suffolk counties during those years.

Genealogy and Family Heritage Jamboree in St. George, Utah

Now is the time to mark your calendar for a great genealogy conference to be held in a sunny location. About two months from now, hundreds of genealogists, perhaps more than one thousand,  will assemble in the "snowbird" town of St. George, Utah, for the Genealogy and Family Heritage Jamboree.

Revolutionary War Records of Fairfield, Connecticut

This week I had a chance to read a "new, old book." Revolutionary War Records of Fairfield, Connecticut was written by Donald Lines Jacobus and was originally published in 1932. Its title at that time was History and Genealogy of the Families of Old Fairfield, Volume III. Over the years, this has become one of the standard references for anyone researching ancestry in the town of Fairfield. Tens of thousands of genealogists have pored over copies of this book for the past seven decades.

NGS Seeks Nominations for the 2006 Hall of Fame

Would your society like to honor a genealogist whose exemplary work lives on today? If so, the National Genealogical Society would like to hear from you. NGS is seeking nominations from the entire genealogical community for persons whose achievements or contributions have made an impact on the field. This educational program increases appreciation of the high standards advocated and achieved by committed genealogists whose work paved the way for researchers today.

You can read the rest of this announcement at http://announcements.eogn.com/2005/12/ngs_seeks_nomin.html

Maryland Marriage Evidences, 1634-1718

A new book by Robert W. Barnes contains a list. That's right, one list - but what a list it is! The book contains a listing of 6,500 marriages between the years 1634 and 1718 in what is now the state of Maryland. If you have ancestry in Maryland in those years, you will want to look at this book.

How About a British Genealogy Vacation?

For the millions of Americans with English ancestry, researching family history can be a bit easier than some other nationalities. After all, the records are written in English! Americans can search many English records without traveling across the Atlantic, thanks to all the records available on microfilm and microfiche. However, at some point you might want to make the leap "across the pond" yourself and seek out ancestors in England. A trip to look up one's family tree in their homeland can be combined with a sightseeing vacation to create a time that you will never forget. Thanks to today's low airfares, a trip to England is now cheaper than ever.

Museum and Genealogical Research Center to be Built on Angel Island

It was known, simply, as "the wooden building." For 30 years, from 1910 to 1940, the barren walls of the Angel Island Immigration Station gave mute testimony to the experiences of roughly 175,000 Chinese immigrants who were detained and exhaustively interrogated on this island in San Francisco Bay, the West Coast's insidious version of Ellis Island.

The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was intended to prevent Chinese laborers from entering the country. This black mark on America's history received long-awaited recognition last week when President George W. Bush signed into law the Angel Island Immigration Station Restoration and Preservation Act.